Mike dropped a few vocal references to Wilson in Llama. Divided contained Call to the Post teases. Guelah Papyrus included an Oom Pa Pa signal. The Horse featured Trey on acoustic guitar. The vocal jam in YEM was based on Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Memories was performed without microphones.

Show Reviews

The 3.7 rating this show had before I gave it 5 stars is crazy talk. Though I think there is lots of interesting music in August '93, it is not one of my favorite months. Generally, I feel like shows from this month just don't flow that well and that lots of the jamming just meanders around aimlessly. This was the first time that they were consistently taking BIG chances on a nightly basis, something that I really appreciate, but I feel the success rate is moderate, at best.

All that said, neither of those critiques apply to this show, which has awesome flow and jams!

The other three reviewers have done Divided Sky, David Bowie, and YEM their due justice. I'll just echoe their sentiments: Divided Sky is as perfect as they come, David Bowie is truly magical (really, it's a must listen), and the guitar jam in YEM is quite unique.

The rest of the show is just gravy. They were playing so tight that the setlist speaks for itself. I particularly liked the Weigh > etc > Daniel Saw The Stone run and Purple Rain, which is my favorite Fishman tune. Can't complain about a Memories, Fire encore either.

All told, this is my second favorite show of the month, right behind Tinley and right before Red Rocks.

THE GOOD: The 7th show of a fantastic run, this show won't disappoint. It follows the previous show's setup of a solid 1st set with a second set containing a ground-breaking version of a jam vehicle (in this case, Bowie). The Bowie is, as others have attested, the gem of the show, and in my opinion, a more solid performance than the previous jam extensions that occurred earlier in the week (8/13 Gin, 8/14 Antelope, 8/15 Tweezer) despite not having a critical 'high point'. You'll hear elements of those jams in here, but this Bowie is a much more cohesive performance than, say, the Antelope, which is quite herky-jerky. While I don't find Divided Sky as spectacular as the others, don't miss the Fluffhead, FEFY combination. The second set of this show is on hyper-drive, so listen to Rift and MSO if you want to hear how fast these songs can be played.

THE BAD: While there's not much to dislike in this one, the band is so energized that they play to the point of failure in a few songs. Rift, for instance, is so fast, that Fish can't quite keep up. One also has to wonder what could have been done had Purple Rain not made an appearance.

ETC: This show is also laden with little snippets and teases. Listen for the Oom Pah Pah signal as well as the First Call tease by Trey in Divided Sky. Trey teases Bowie during his acoustic section of The Horse. Page teases 'One More Saturday Night' in a break during Suzy. The band also whistles eerily during YEM, which they would do again at Red Rocks. Trey remarks he "doesn't want to sing with booties on" during Memories, but it's not apparent what is happening.

This show may not be as stacked top to bottom as some others from August 93, but the highs are quite high. Divided Sky, David Bowie, and the somewhat unusual YEM are definitely worth hearing. I especially recommend the Bowie; it's my pick for the best Bowie of the month and is one of my all-time favorite versions.

The top-notch versions of YEM and Bowie deserve all the appreciation that they get. Bowie in particular is a multi-faceted, dynamic work of art. Despite this impressive competition, the highlight in my opinion is Divided Sky. Bar none this is the single best version that I've ever heard. Check out the wild flourishes and accents that Trey throws into the jam around 11:30-12:30 or so. Holy guacamole con chips!!! Also noteworthy is the interesting little jamlet preceding The Horse. Familiar melody, but I'm struggling to place it.

Donate to Mockingbird

Contact Us

The Mockingbird Foundation

The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.

And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $1,000,000 to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.